Where
* appears below, please try Googling to find more.
140103
Chainbridge walk
Why?
As
I write this I also give some pointers*1 to what you may find enlarged
later.
Any of the lines below is likely to be enlarged on
I hope to include more and more invitations to this blog as I see useful reasons It begins with sport. Other things interest me too.
I hope there will be some dialogue.
Aaron (no1 son) is in the communications business.
I am therefore reluctant to give him a busman's holiday. His social networking is private. I take pains not to be a pushy granddad, too. Proud, but not interfering. Like my own dad, I guess.
Alex, youngest, is lost among others in on-line searches. Perhaps now he wishes he had kept his family nickname of Zander. I must admit I had a shock seeing zanders for sale by an Austrian river in 1979. If he had pike characteristics he might be more appreciated for his current work in movies.
I
have to start somewhere, so I’m re-writing a piece I wrote to my
middle son Adrian, just over two years ago.
He
tries to get me back into competitive cycling.
I
try to get him in direct contact with soft (safer?) ground.
With
his business reasonably settled he returned to competition a few years ago in a novices duathlon. Apart from school days he had never run-raced.
Then he found what was missing -velodrome thrills. He had put these aside for dedication to a Design career. I vouch that compared to some areas, Design is very time consuming. That does not stop some appalling everyday designing around which frequently brings out the grumpy old man in me.
Comparisons may be made in other areas of life. In some you need to put in much more time. There are no short cuts. Even those whose success may depend on milli-seconds may need hours of dedicated slog. Overnight success often proves to be a myth.
Life's choices. I
switched to running with the marathon boom in 1980, while unhappy at riding and racing on UK roads in its non cycling culture. Voting
for the Common Market in 1973 was a vain hope. It may be pessimistic to say that the successes of 2008 and 2012 Olympics have done little in the long term to improve the lot of cyclists.
In
case you are not a (competitive) runner or cyclist there are
different sorts of reward and disadvantages in both.
And much in common with respect to structure and feelings.
I
won't bang on about the great feelings to be found.
Banging? -head-banging,
as effort often may be: is desirable breaking-down of tissue to build
again, but stronger.
New
Year Resolutions? To get this
blog on track.
Do
penance. As you do?
I
have just slithered and squelched a very rural multi-terrain 10K.
PW is irrelevant ! (Personal Worsts to non competitors)
There were few climbs to break the monotony.
If
the term Blog is
derived from Web-log, how about a watlog
race?
My
interests mean I seldom put sports as my main interest in life.
Every
day I am bewildered by the continued display of energy and ability of
my Facebook Friends -
even those older than me - particularly in cycling, as reflected in
their postings. It seems to be a mix of boasting, indulgence, pride, loneliness and joy. Anything else?
How
far can you go?*
My
ex-wife, and our other sons are not competitive.
I try not to be.
I
have known Barbara for 22 years. We began co-habiting nearly 20 years
ago and have been married for 15. Hard though I try, I have never
been able to totally
give up competition.
B,
I call her in print -there are too many sheep here to go
Heybarba-ra-barring on in full. ( What do you call a..? )
B,
a Hash House Harrier* 2 (ex-Pat runner), came here as a keen walker and
teacher. Not being a Welsh speaker, desirable for teaching in
Snowdonia, she had moved as close as she could. We met as runners at
the club where I was Chair*3. I was (often seemingly unsuccessfully), engrossed
in its internal politics while trying to raise the standard, but
still trying to give members what they thought they wanted.
Hypocrisy
Reflecting the world, Sport is full of it, self delusion. Cycling,
because of aerodynamics and it long history as a publicity vehicle,
is probably the most style conscious. Poserish, some might say.
Groups
It's also often
said, two folk find a third and a club is formed.
Groups
or clubs may be likened to little islands, themselves in lakes, in
countries, separated by oceans. They may be appropriately
insular. This insularity, often seen pejoratively, may work for them. Much like islanders who muck in or turn to several jobs they
become all-rounders or find un-tapped skills. Equally, others may
never try another aspect of a sport or know how to make comparisons.
On-line
groups (Forums) linked only by some specialised interest have
mushroomed and mutated. One stormy weekend I briefly met some NACF*4 members planning
their day at the Rally.
Some,
like cave dwellers, you might say, may see more pulled pumps and
upturned glasses than pumps for tyres or for feet.
Irrespective
of effort, joiners
want to be seen wearing the right badge, tie or colours.
Place
Money has helped us lose a sense of place. No more so than in football. I make little reference to it.
I
quietly champion
Place. Smaller communities may have a better chance of survival. Surviving in extremes of heat and cold, long and short days, is the stuff of stories that help us understand the world.
Example
Had I read Montaigne
and not first unwittingly absorbed Einstein, then I might have realised
that trying too hard to set an example, might have put me in another
league.
It's
all right for you, you learned to eat properly in your 20s; I hate pain, can't
train
like you etc, I need
my beer, my
chips etc, and salad's not for me.
It
seems to be no good telling folk that I/we- you maybe? -really enjoy
exercise and simple good food.
Effort
Simply
put and intelligently applied, the more you do, the more you can do.
Modern sport bears this out for all. Leagues may be where the consistent plodder scores. League may also mean tier.
The one day, the series, the league may favour different types. I never really enjoyed competition so tended to opt for the first and just do enough to win.
Rise
and fall B, now
early retired, shows a competitiveness that seems to rise as mine
falls.
For
nearly 2 decades she was running slower than me. Being much younger
our declining curves have long crossed (especially in the shorter
distances).
It’s
like the family crisis when dad stops dragging the youngster and is
himself dragged. (Maybe you have got that T shirt!) We keep company when the aim is sociability first.
Facebook: Mick, Mike and Michael
It
is with mixed feelings that I found myself hooked into Facebook by
well-meaning others, with Friends
that seemingly might have been favourably influenced by me in their youth. Flattering .What I wish for now is BRAND.
What
if I had posted as Mike or Michael? What's in name? Well, many
unwittingly meet... prejudice. Having 3 “A” sons
did not yield 3 amateur athletes. Nor are they tyrannical or biblically obsessed.
I
find myself too busy to spend long on Facebook comments, have pangs
of guilt in only commenting now and then - even to family - so I have
plunged in at the shallow end of blogging
and
direct them to it.
Metaphors
Shallow end? swimming? Now that's an unfamiliar metaphor, awakening
earlier memories. Indeed, I now have Pincher Martin*5 nightmares.
As
an East of England teenager I swam freely in the brown waters of the
R. Stour.
all now so fashionable. This was only 2 or 3 stone-throws from the house. I also had a
season ticket to the local *6 open air bath. It was all a bit Posy
Simmonds: like village teenagers hanging round the bus shelter. See
Tamara Drewe.*7 .We would lie on our towels sunbathing. I can’t
really remember when I first fell
in love,
but it might have been linked to diving …I had swum the day before
in the deep-end for the first time (breast-stoke). Closing time
neared and I asked a bigger youth how you dived.
Just
do it, he
said.
Fall
in. You’ll come up again.
*8 Notice the 3 little words? Quoteland*9 is full of such
simple advice..A
journey of 1000 miles… you know howta whistle doncha?... cycling:
Turn the pedals, one, two…one, two, repeat; running: first, get
out of the chair…now fall forward, repeat…
It’s
about making the first move. Then continuing. Practice makes perfect
blah blah.
Basics
are simple. We all look for magic bullets just the same, and the
world turns on its sophisticated sales. New kit can uplift the spirit in bad
times.
Often
a combination of circumstances may make them seem
to work.
Our
athletic efforts are usually cumulative so we are likely to improve
anyway. As long as we are working at it.
Injuries also quite often
heal if you just let nature take its course.
Money
changes all this, as it does much of sport.
Recipes (and insects) TV is awash with food, but I want to ask questions
about encouraging folk to eat better, and in so doing not put a
strain on national resources. Revive our (UK) apple orchards. I want more
to get in touch with the re-understanding, re-learning and treasuring
what herbs, insects, birds, we still have and will lose. Pandas may
be pandered too (if you don't like puns, stop here!) I have done the
odd drawings of insects since way back ...as for saving our less
cuddly creatures.. like less attractive people, should they be forgotten?
But
back to sport: doing it without material gain foremost. But then for
governments to recognise effort with financial support. If they want a healthier nation, that is.
Success
brings its own reward.
Sweeties may help towards the child's mountain top, or the exam passed, just as a carrot
dangling over the donkey's face. Cash helps those making extra effort to better the tribe, community, club . But, competing or helping we may only want occasional recognition.
It seems to me in general, where financial gain is the primary incentive, things begin to go downhill. Sports which are expensive are pretty much for the rich. Therefore are they worth as much? Worth ? Minority sports raise similar questions. Human beings' desire for recognition will lead to what Brits know as Getting in the Guinness Book of Records. Pole squatting, as was.
However, financial
help would make it easier for older top athletes who already train
harder than the masses. (And me, if there reduced rates for taking up less space,etc).
Would
the norm rise overall, more people feel better ? be more tolerant of others beliefs? And not block hospital beds.
The
British Veteran (Athletes) were photographed being entertained by an
incoming Tony Blair (1997). But ask Veterans (now British Masters)
how much help they get to compete in World Championships.
We
(London) have just hosted the Olympics. Now look out for nonsensical
cycle lanes, often as little as 2 or 3 metres long.
*10 And even these have obstructions!
In
any case, if you subscribe to the theory that the ARTS are either
about Shock OR Love (I don't) then I want to get nearer to most of
what I hope to post. For me these things are just life's fabric. Like most
positive activity, doing
is usually more worthwhile than lazing.
I
won't try to define mindless, mindlessness.
Every
activity might have its bits of..dare I say it? ...knitting:
essential repetition to reach a result. Maybe the rhythm involved is satisfying . Just watch some menial worker and see. See where the smiles are in the world .
Anyone
can have a blog, it seems. You have to be confident it will be
worthwhile. I have experienced the loneliness of the (long distance
runner) as radio broadcaster. Talking into the air. It can't be worse.
Just
as history is mostly recorded by the articulate scribe, so we come to
regard superior folk as the norm. In life it is the well-known
success, who gets the press. Or the notorious. (Already perhaps we should lose the easy rhyme and substitute line for press).
But
effort and feelings associated with competition is much the same for
everyone. It’s feelings that fascinate me. EVERYONE HAS THEM.
The Walk .
We
had gone to the garage, only to find that each had a puncture. I had
a jammed nut in my head-set. That alone spelled trouble, sunshine
was forecast to be early only and in short supply in the hills. It
would soon turn to rain…Sod it!
We
donned walking togs, picked up rucksacks.
We
had recently replaced the car. B said, look
Old Man, no tapes or
CD deck, but there’s a port for a mini-thingy (MP player) which
emanates from the car radio.
(emanate
is my verb. I just like playing with sounds, words, and mostly with
images. MN8 tickles my fancy).
I
like Inov8*11.
They don't pay me, but I can say I thought these shoes were the bees' knees
when they first arrived in 2003. It is fascinating to see old
assumptions challenged. By then I had given up on expensive world
travel to compete amongst fanatic old runners. I check their names. They are so committed.
They
are unlike me, doing it once is not enough for them.
I
guess it is like the wild: the annual tangling of antlers. And then
being as constantly
highly competitive as their bodies will allow.
I
may be seen as cherry picker. So, sorry! I am not a record breaker by
nature either, and only do enough to win. Or try to.
We
park. See our Wedding
Hill
(more later perhaps) in
the nook of the left bump. There, where the cloud appears to touch .Halfway between the 'k' and 'W' in the watermark
Why
do we love living here? We don’t actually, but about 9 miles east.
Until a few years ago we had only really looked NW to West to this
mini Snowdon (but with trees. I love trees. I love trees).
We
then realised how flat it was from home and the Severn valley towards
Shrewsbury. And so it was by the Dee, right up to North of Chester.
One runner who took up CTC riding tours, took me to the N West’s
cycling-dedicated Eureka* café for training. He had been a tourist
in his youth, encouraged back by our local camaraderie of retired and
self-employed oldies who were runners (frequently injured) who rode bikes.
Last
year I discovered I now only need one gear. (Low)
When
I arrived here in 1988, if it weren’t for the hedge flailers I
might have I thought I had come to heaven anyway. Real hills, real
flat.
We
still have many miles of quiet lanes to explore.
*1 this happens to be the title of a much read novel by David Lodge
*2 Hash House Harriers: ex-Pat social running begun in Kuala Lumpur in 1838
*3 Oswestry Olympians A C.
*4 NACF Not Another Cycling Forum.
*5 William
Golding's novel of a dying sub-mariner.
*6 Haverhill,
Suffolk.
* 7 neither
graphic novel nor cartoon, but a film based on acute observational
line drawings of young life in The Guardian.
*8 tick that one off.
*9 Quoteland I just invented that place because the online world is full of dis-embodied quotes.
*10 www Anorak .co.uk
*12 If
mn8 is a phonic nicety. I am equally interested in concrete
poetry.
end
